Sequenced Pig Genome Could Help Combat Human Diseases 64
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists announced Wednesday that they have mapped the entire genome of the domestic pig, revealing that besides providing tasty bacon and sausages, the animal may also be useful in fighting human diseases. The study published in the journal Nature found that pigs and humans share 112 DNA mutations that have previously been linked to diseases like obesity, diabetes, dyslexia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, according to US and European researchers. Researchers said that because pigs share many of the same complex genetic diseases as humans, the animals would serve as excellent models for studying the underlying biology of human disease."
Glad to see more work in this realm (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Welsh boxer (Score:2)
You can take this insulin (made from pigs), or you can die of diabetes.
Evolution in action.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe they could also work on letting us grow our own personal supply of bacon for when we go camping, or can't be bothered going shopping.
Explain why honey boo boo's mom squeels like a pig (Score:1, Offtopic)
http://youtu.be/-XSq0PvVxMs?t=1m12s
Pigs...is there anything that can't do?! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
All that AND you can make footballs out of them.
Can you play football if you wear gloves?
Re: (Score:2)
Goalkeepers usually do.
Re: (Score:2)
FOOTball. You touch it with your feet, which are encased in shoes. Bloody idiots, the lot of you.
Re: (Score:1)
The ball is 12 inches long, hence a FOOT ball. Fucking ignoramus, the lot of you.
Delays (Score:3)
pigs and humans share 112 DNA mutations (Score:2)
Obesity? (Score:2)
Surely Obesity in a pig is a good thing?
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Pig pens today are not what you'd like to imagine they are. Go watch a video on youtube for a dose of reality.
You peeg!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me!
Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me!
Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
It sleeps on the floor and eats French toast. What could go wrong?
Re: (Score:2)
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions. We've kept pigs sheltered enough that they can experience the same problems as us, and suffer the same consequences.
Hang on, lady! Don't blame me! Maybe others do, but I swear I don't let (other) pigs on my couch in my basement... is barely large enough for myself!
(grin)
It sleeps on the floor and eats French toast.
Naaah... can't do. Too many empty beer bottles on the floor (belches)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not the eating, it's the living conditions.
Well that's a fair argument.
Human conditions have LOTS in common with modern pig-farming.
- High-Density living
- insufficient fresh-air and sunshine
- insufficient exercise
- fast food
- excessive amounts of food
- complete lack of varied diet
- high-stress
- excessive use of antibiotics
Sure some of us don't spend our days up to our elbows in shit, but that's ONLY SOME OF US.
Re: (Score:2)
- lack of natural predators
- low diversity in diseases
- abundantly available shelter
- no physical fitness required to obtain food
This basically amounts to little or no evolutionary pressure. As with any organism, their chromosomes are free to mutate and diversify as long as it doesn't get them killed, and there's a lot more leeway for livestock than wild animals.
Re:Humm.. So we share the same diseases (Score:4, Interesting)
Wonder why ? Maybe us eating pigs for the last oh-how-many-hundred-years might have something to do with it ? Wouldn't it be easier to treat these diseases by not eating the pigs in the first place ..
You are what you eat. If we eat disease carrying pigs, we become those pigs. Have you seen some of the people who eat a lot of pig ? Their faces even start to resemble the animal.
How would you explain jewish and muslim people that are still obese/diabetic/etc even they didn't eat pig meat?
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
Well, actually.. looky here [discovermagazine.com].
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Yep and perhaps if we eat the same foods as another species, we're more likely to develop similar problems.. I don't know. It seems a very immature field of study, but it certainly is interesting :)
They eat a lot of rice in Japan and that's one of the countries with the longest average life spans, so I don't know if the issue is all that simple. They do tend to eat smaller portions over there though. Personally I'm quite happy to go on eating rice for the moment.
Re: (Score:2)
Your attempt at humour was a bit of a boar.
Re:How on earth.... (Score:5, Funny)
...do you diagnose dyslexia in pigs?
They make a weird "knoi-knoi" sound.
Re: (Score:2)
...do you diagnose dyslexia in pigs?
They make a weird "knoi-knoi" sound.
Telling "knoi-knoi" jokes?
Re: (Score:2)
Obviously, you start by teaching them to read.
It's tiring doing all the thinking sometimes.
Re: (Score:1)
Well if you want people to eat less pork I have a Modest Proposal that I think may interest you...
Forget human diseases! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I can't wait for Frankenbacon!
Once we get the cow genome worked out.. (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
The usual 'animals are toys for humans to do what they wish with' banter from the emotionally immature Slashdot crowd. Do animals feel pain? Why is your life worth more than a pig's?
My life is worth more than a pig's because I am not a pig.
How embarrassing for all of you, not an ounce of compassion between you. Vivisection is medical fraud.
We could use dogs, which as I understand it lead to modern organ transplants in humans. I suppose you'd prefer we had no such thing as organ transplants or that the experimentation was done on humans?
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Demikhov [wikipedia.org]
Viruses jumping species (Score:2)
Cool. So pigs will be the petri dishes to test new medical treatments. This will end well.
Middle management? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
How many genes did they find in common with middle management? Can they cure that?
Did you mean 'cure' in the food sense or in the medical sense?
mmmm, wood-smoked management-middle!
Sequenced pig? (Score:1)
Will it help us design better human centipedes?
The new Egg-laying Wool Milk Pig: Film at 11:00 (Score:2)
Sounds like a step towards a real-life Eierlegende Wollmilchsau [google.com], the ultimate all-purpose farm animal!
Mmm, genome (Score:2)
That explains it! (Score:2)
Does this research also mean they could make people taste like bacon?
Dang cockroach (Score:2)
Yes But What About .... (Score:2)
The Homosexuality Gene?
EVA? (Score:1)